TomTom

Today, for all intents and purposes, was a big day. Maybe not as big as yesterday, but it's pretty close. Especially if you consider the two cancellations, with the HP Slate getting tossed to the side, along with Microsoft's Courier digital journal. A sad day for the tablet market, indeed. But, we move on, forward unto . . . Well, whatever it is you're heading into. Either way, welcome to the Thursday edition of the Daily Slash. In the Best of R3, we've got the LG Aloha getting a name change, iAd takes a steep turn in the price bracket, and Palm may be ready to face a class-action lawsuit. And then in the Dredge 'Net, looks like Valve finally hit a release date for Steam on the Mac, the app thing gets out of hand, and Verizon gets a new netbook.

Most of us are familiar with TomTom. The company is an international firm that is huge in the GPS and PND market around the world. The company is looking to follow other companies like Google and Apple into one of the most lucrative markets for portable devices -- apps.

TomTom have unveiled their new flagship PND, the TomTom GO LIVE 1000, and it's the first from the company to pack a capacitive touchscreen and new, Webkit-based UI. The GO LIVE 1000 comes with a year's subscription to TomTom's LIVE services including HD Traffic - which can show congestion details on highways and smaller roads - via an integrated Vodafone connection, as well as TomTom's IQ Routes for intelligent journey planning that takes into account historic traffic patterns.

TomTom is one of the biggest names in consumer GPS applications and services. The company is mostly known for its line of GPS devices like the Start2 unveiled late in March 2010. TomTom has introduced a couple new services that it is aiming at governments looking to provide information to travelers as they go about their daily business in Europe.

TomTom have outed their latest entry-level PND, the TomTom Start2, and if you prefer to keep your navigation separate from your cellphone then it's a budget way to avoid getting lost. The Start2 packs a 3.5-inch touchscreen along with RDS-TMC automatic traffic reports using TomTom's IQ Routes system.

One of the more compelling aspects of a smartphone-based PND app that uses online mapping data is that you don't need to worry so much about the maps going stale; as long as the provider is on the ball, they can update their servers and you'll spend less time accidentally trying to turn the wrong direction up one-way streets. Now TomTom are fighting back, with a new deal for certain PND models in their TomTom XL and TomTom XXL ranges that will deliver lifetime map and traffic updates.

Entry-level GPS devices are a great thing for many commuters who need a GPs device on occasion but don’t want to form over hundreds of dollars to get one. TomTom has announced a new GPS device today called the Ease that is aimed directly at the entry-level user. The device sports the Fold & Go Easy Port mount and has text-to-speech.

TomTom is one of the biggest names in GPS and navigation devices for cars and other uses. The company offers a myriad of GPS solutions with different features and screen sizes to meet different needs and budgets. TomTom has announced a new special edition of the XXL 540S that we first saw back in September called the World Traveler Edition.

Friday is Black Friday meaning that there will be hoards of people out shopping and some of the best deals of the Christmas season. TomTom has announced that Walmart will be offering deals on two new and exclusive GPS devices in the store on Black Friday starting at 5am.

TomTom have confirmed that their Car Kit – the optional accessory to accompany the TomTom iPhone app – will only fully work with the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, thanks to a limitation in the TomTom application. The app’s limitation means that owners of the first-gen iPhone, together with iPod touch users, won’t be able to take advantage of the Car Kit’s integrated GPS receiver and speakerphone.

That expensive TomTom iPhone Car Kit hit the Apple Store in Europe earlier this month for 99,99 euro. Americans who have been waiting to get their hands on the TomTom iPhone kit can now grab the thing at the US Apple Store.

Weeks are flying by and it's time for another week in review. Monday we learned that a new hack was available from the iPhone Dev Team that adds MMS to first generation iPhones and tethering to 3.1.2 OS for the later iPhone models. We also found out that Microsoft is set to issue a new update for the Xbox 360 that will break unauthorized storage devices. That means that some gamers will be unable to access the saved game data after applying the new update.